The present invention relates to surface covering materials applied directly to walls, ceilings, or floors of living spaces, and to materials such as blinds for covering windows. Significantly, the present invention also relates to the obviously desirable lessening of heat and vapor transmission through such surfaces of living spaces, and to the provision of such physical properties by material which is sturdy, durable, flame resistant, and esthetically pleasing.
It is well known that materials such as wallpaper can be used in a living space to change and enhance the esthetic effect of the space. However, the value of such materials in regulating heat flow, in providing a vapor barrier, or in furnishing any flame resistance characteristics to the covered surface, is practically nil. Materials such as rock wool or fiberglass insulation, or particulate or foam insulations, which are installed inside the wall spaces of a building, are well known means for regulating heat transfer between a living space and the external atmosphere. Such means, however, are extremely inconvenient to apply in a building which has already been completed, and furthermore contribute no esthetic effect to the living space and indeed may detract from the esthetic effect if substantial alteration of a wall, for instance, is necessary in order to install the desired insulation material.
There has now been discovered a group of composite materials, suitable for use in various embodiments as wall coverings, ceiling coverings, floor coverings such as rug underlays, and window blinds, which surprisingly and pleasantly afford both esthetic adaptability and a significant degree of control of heat and vapor transmission through a covered surface, in a material which is at the same time durable, wear and tear resistant, and flame resistant. The material of the present invention may be applied in the same way as conventional wall coverings such as wallpaper, and provide similar esthetic effects, but when installed the material also provides a permanent vapor barrier and radiant heat barrier which provides noticeable savings in energy costs to the user.